South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Jenifer James
The Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), Edmund Yakani has sounded the alarm over the deteriorating political climate, urging for immediate convening of an inclusive national dialogue to prevent a slide back into violence.
In a statement yesterday, Yakani expressed deep concern over the country’s escalating tensions and divisive political discourse following the fighting in Upper Nile between the White Army militia and the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) that led to the arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar, and many of his allies.
“I would like to take this opportunity to raise a concern following the outcome of the press conference held over the weekend. We are aware that six action points were mentioned by the leadership and members of the committee as a way forward,” he said.
His remarks come in the aftermath of the press conference held by members of the High-Level Standing Committee on the implementation of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement, who said they will convene soon to recognize the “legitimate” faction of the SPLM/A-IO.
Martin Elia Lomuro, the Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Secretary General of the High- Level Standing Committee for the implementation of the peace deal said the parties have agreed to expedite the implementation of the peace accord.
“Our commitment as high level committee is to make sure that we implement the agreement to move this country forward, we want to have one national army, disarm civilians and make sure that the army, police and all other organized forces are in control, we want to establish a democratic system then we move the country to elections,” Lomuro said.
He also revealed that the parties will review the budget of the peace mechanisms including the security and electoral mechanism to ensure smooth implementation of the pending tasks ahead of the 2026 general elections.
Yakani called on the National Transitional Committee and other signatories to urgently engage in a broad-based, inclusive dialogue focused on the proposed six action points, warning that peace efforts are losing ground.
“We see efforts for consolidating peace becoming lower every day compared to the efforts driving the country toward full-scale violence. We are so disappointed that we have also seen leaders start embracing hate speech, hostile propaganda, and incitement of violence. That is very disturbing and requires us to sit down as a country, as quickly as possible,” he said.
Yakani said that national elections scheduled for December 2026, remain key to a peaceful transition, and emphasized progress is impossible without deliberate decisions from political leaders to create the right conditions.
“We are aware that the country is in political turmoil, turmoil created by individuals who embrace violence over dialogue,” he said.
“My appeal as civil society is that the parties should dialogue now and not tomorrow. We need to fix the political gaps and define in an inclusive manner, a South Sudanese pathway for transitioning from violence to peace,” Yakani said.
Over the weekend, the government proposed six key action points focusing on renewed dialogue, institutional reforms, and a unified national strategy for implementing the peace agreement.
In response, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM/SPLA-IO) acknowledged the proposal and expressed cautious optimism.
“We take note of the proposal for a renewed dialogue,” said Oyet Nathaniel Pierino.
“This is a step in the right direction for resolving the outstanding violations and restoring the R-ARCSS in order to achieve sustainable peace and stability in the country.”
